


what good are the stars above

by growlery writes (growlery)



Series: friendly exes bellamy&miller [2]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Friendship, Gen, Online Dating, gentle "dating is hard especially as a queer person" angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 09:14:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16930500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/growlery/pseuds/growlery%20writes
Summary: Miller's got a date. Bellamy's on safety buddy duty, and he takes his responsibilitiesveryseriously.





	what good are the stars above

Miller’s date isn’t here yet, but Bellamy doesn’t think they’ll get off to the best start if the guy arrives to find Miller already sitting with an incredibly handsome and just as charming man who also happens to be his ex-boyfriend. Miller snorts when Bellamy voices this suspicion, but he doesn’t disagree, so Bellamy makes himself comfortable at the bar with a beer. Non-alcoholic, of course – he takes his duties as online date safety buddy _very_ seriously. 

The guy – a grad student named Kyle – is late, which already doesn’t bode well. Bellamy sips his drink through narrowed eyes, resisting the urge to text Miller about it. He doesn’t need to make Miller more nervous. 

“I’m not expecting much,” he said, when he first told Bellamy about it. “It’s my first go at it, whatever. Odds are against me. We’ll see what happens.”

Anyone else might’ve believed his casual tone, easy shrug, but they were together for over a year and have been friends even longer; Bellamy knows him better. 

Kyle still hasn’t arrived by the time Bellamy finishes his beer, but a crowd’s developed around the bar, much too thick for it to be worth the risk of him getting another drink. Instead, he busies his hands with his empty bottle, rolling it between them, picking at the label, while he watches Miller pull out his phone, stare at it, put it away, pull it out again. 

Next to him, a group has ordered shots, but one of their number sounds reluctant. 

“I hate tequila,” she’s saying, and Bellamy tenses up – what Miller has described as his parent tendencies activating. 

“It’s just one shot, Raven,” someone else wheedles, and Raven goes, “Ugh, no,” but her friends are still trying to convince her. 

Bellamy turns around and frowns. “No means no, folks,” he says firmly. “Leave it alone.”

“Wow,” Raven says, and, oh, shit, Bellamy’s in trouble. She’s smirking, a wicked curve of her lips that stretches to her bright, dark eyes, framed by the long hair falling loose around her face. “A real knight in shining armour, huh?”

Bellamy stubbornly holds back a flush. “Whatever,” he mutters. “Peer pressure isn’t a joke.”

Her smirk softens into something that makes Bellamy’s heart start to pound. “Hey, yeah, you’re right. That wasn’t cool, Monty,” she says, and she’s clearly still joking, but it’s not at Bellamy’s expense, this time. 

“Sorry,” says the person who’d spoken before, Monty, grinning a bit at Bellamy. He, too, has an incredibly arresting smile; Bellamy’s feeling more than a little helpless right now. “If it helps, I’m pretty sure nobody can make Raven do something she doesn’t want to.”

“Damn right,” Raven says cheerfully. She looks at Bellamy, raising her eyebrows slightly. “Take the shot for me?”

She holds out the tiny glass to him and he takes it, their fingers brushing for just a moment before she lets go. It’s as he knocks it back that he remembers Miller, and he slams the glass down as he whirls around to check on him. 

Kyle’s arrived, finally, and Bellamy relaxes until he notices that Miller doesn’t look any less tense. He pulls out his phone, shoots off a quick text, tries not to fidget while he waits for a response. 

_**it’s cool he’s fine**_ , Miller sends back, and then, _**kinda boring tho**_ , and Bellamy sighs. He sends an alarm emoji and a question mark, their signal, and barely a second passes before he gets back _**god pls**_. 

“Thanks for the drink,” he says to Raven. “I’ve gotta go rescue my buddy.”

“Sure,” Raven says, raising the shot glass he emptied in a mock toast. “Thanks for your commitment to autonomy.”

Bellamy gives her a two-fingered salute in return, a wry set to his mouth, before he gets up and makes for Miller’s table. As he walks past, he pretends to trip over his own feet, sending himself careening into Miller’s chair just hard enough to knock Miller’s drink askew. 

“Sorry, man,” he says, maybe slurring his words a little, because Bellamy is nothing if not committed, and also it’s kind of hilarious to watch Miller have to hold back an eyeroll. 

As Bellamy moves on, heading for the bathroom, he hears Miller say, “I’ll be right back, sorry,” and grins. 

He’s drying his hands when Miller comes in, shucking his shirt over his head. Miller gives him a narrow look in the mirror. 

“You didn’t need to completely drench me,” he says. “I actually don’t know if this shirt is salvageable.”

“Good, it’s ugly as fuck,” Bellamy says, leaning back against the wall. “So how bad is it, actually?”

Miller’s suddenly not meeting Bellamy’s gaze. “Just boring, like I said,” he tells the sink. “Kind of an asshole, I guess.”

Bellamy nods. Miller keeps wringing out his shirt, doesn’t look up. A moment later, the tap shuts off and Miller moves to the dryers, and Bellamy shifts over to give him space. Miller sighs. Bellamy lays a careful hand on his shoulder, squeezes. 

“It just sucks,” he says, barely audible over the noise of the dryer. Bellamy turns, still holding Miller’s shoulder, and wraps him up into a hug from behind, chin resting on Miller’s shoulder as he leans his head against Miller. Miller knocks their heads together gently. “Thanks, buddy.”

“No problem, pal,” Bellamy says. There are more people in the bathroom now, and they give them weird looks, but Bellamy returns them, eyes sharp, and nobody says anything to them. 

Miller detaches them briefly to pull his still kinda damp shirt back on, then turns to hug Bellamy properly, taking a few long, deep breaths. Bellamy just holds on. 

“What if it’s always like this?” Miller asks eventually. “Bad date after bad date after-”

Bellamy holds on a little tighter, trying not to feel helpless. He can’t promise what he wants to, that of course Miller will find somebody, somebody _amazing_ , because he’s fucking lovely and deserves all the happiness in the goddamn world. He can’t tell Miller that it’s worth trying anyway, not when Bellamy’s so worn down himself. 

“Text Kyle some bullshit and let’s go,” he tells Miller. “We’re gonna cuddle.”


End file.
